ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

(GLS684)

NATURAL RESOURCES
 What are the Earth’s Natural
Resources?
• Mineral Resources
• Energy Resources
• Living Resources
• Air
• Water
• Sunlight
• Soil
 Resources are
limited and are
either
Renewable or
Non
renewable
What are Renewable
Resources?
Renewable Resources can be replaced by
nature at a rate close to the rate at which
they are used.
What are examples of
Renewable Resources?
• Vegetation
(Crops & Forests)
• Sunlight
• Air
• Soil
• Geothermal
• Water
• Ice
 • Resources that
exist in a fixed
amount
• Nonrenewable
are renewed
very slowly or
not at all.

What are
Nonrenewable
Resources?
 • Coal • Graphite
• Oil • Sulphur
What are
examples of • Natural Gas • Gypsum
Nonrenewable • Petroleum • Uranium
Resources? • Sand, Stone, & • Phosphate
Gravel Rock, Potash,
• Salt & Nitrates
• Talc • And other
Minerals
Mineral Resources
 Nonrenewable Energy
Resources

• A. Fossil Fuels are nonrenewable and may

cause pollution
• They are relatively cheap and easy to extract
and use. (Examples include: Coal, Oil,
Petroleum, and Natural Gas)

• B. Nuclear power: energy is created by

atomic fission. It produces very little air
pollution, but it does produce toxic waste
that takes millions of years to decompose. It
uses the radioactive mineral Uranium, which
is nonrenewable.
 Renewable Energy Resources

Have less of an impact on the • Water

environment and promote • Wind
sustainability (the ability for • Sun
future generations to have the • Geothermal
same resources that we do) Energy
 How does the way in which some
resources are extracted and used
affect the Earth’s environment?
• Can lead to pollution of land, water, and
air
• May contribute to global warming
• Destruction of landscape may occur
 Consuming Energy

Malaysia :
https://www.worldd
ata.info/asia/malaysi
a/energy-
consumption.php
 Conserving natural
resources
• To conserve natural resources, you
should try to use them only when
necessary.

• 3 R’s
– Reduce
– Reuse
– Recycle
 Reusing Products

Ways to Reuse Products

Carry a reusable tote bag when shopping.
Reuse wrapping paper, plastic bags, and boxes.
Give outgrown clothes to others.
Use the back sides of paper for notes.
Cut up old sheets and towels for cleaning rags.
Donate old items to various organizations.
Make art projects out of discarded items.
 Reducing Waste

• You can reduce waste by

– precycling, or buying products that reduce waste
– reading labels to avoid buying hazardous waste
products
– avoiding buying disposable products
– buying refills instead of single packages
 Recycling Products

• Recycling – turning a used product into a product that can be used

• Recycling is one way to dispose of goods and get the most use from them
– Paper
– Plastic
– Bottles
– Cans
– Scrap metal
 Recycling Products

• You can recycle by

– participating in recycling programs
– buying products from companies that use
recycled materials and practice recycling
– buying environmentally friendly products
– contacting companies that generate a lot
of waste to ask about their recycling
policies
Pollution cycle
 SOIL POLLUTION
How can soil be lost or damaged?

• Exhausted – lose fertility because crops planted year

after year.

• Polluted – mining, chemical spills, HUMANS

• Erosion – wind, water

• Desertification – once wet area, undergoes drought

conditions OR grazing animals OR cutting trees
http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/CTW/ChinaDesertification.jpeg
 Causes of Soil Pollution

• Industrial Activity:
– biggest contributor, especially since the amount of mining and
manufacturing has increased. The industry waste not disposed off
in a manner.

• Agricultural Activities:
– Chemical utilization are not produced in nature and cannot be
broken down by it.

• Waste Disposal:
– Every human produces a certain amount of personal waste
products by way or urine and feces (Biological waste : full of toxins
and chemical).

• Accidental Oil Spills:

– Oil leaks can happen during storage and transport of chemicals.
These chemicals in fuel : enter into the groundwater through soil
and make the water undrinkable.

• Acid Rain:
– air mixes up with the rain and fall back on the ground. The polluted
water could dissolve away some of the important nutrients found
in soil and change the structure of the soil.
 Effect of Soil Pollution

• Effect on Health of Humans:

• Long term exposure to such soil can affect the genetic
make-up of the body, causing congenital illnesses and
chronic health problems that cannot be cured easily.

• Effect on Growth of Plants:

• Most plants are unable to adapt when the chemistry of the
soil changes so radically in a short period of time.

• Decreased Soil Fertility:

• can decrease soil fertility and therefore decrease in the soil
yield

• Toxic Dust:
• foul gases from landfills pollutes; health of some people.
The unpleasant smell causes inconvenience to other people

• Changes in Soil Structure:

• The death of many soil organisms (e.g. earthworms) in the
soil can lead to alteration in soil structure.
 HOW CAN SOIL BE
CONSERVED?

• Soil conservation is the management of

soil to prevent destruction.

– Contour Plowing
– Crop Rotation
– Conservation Plowing
– Windbreaks
– Leaving soil fallow
 Contour Plowing
plowing fields along curves of slopes
 Conservation Plowing
dead weeds and stalks are left in the ground from year to year
 Crop Rotation
plant different crops in a field from year to year
 Windbreak
trees planted along the edge of a field
 Terracing

• Prevents erosion from heavy rains on steep hills

WATER POLLUTION
Distribut
Water Quality Index and Water
Quality Standards in Malaysia
 Water Quality Index and Water
Quality Standards in Malaysia
http://www.wepa-db.net/policies/law/malaysia/eq_surface.htm
Water Quality Index and Water
Quality Standards in Malaysia
 WQI FORMULA

WQI FORMULA AND CALCULATION FORMULA

WQI = (0.22* SlDO) + (0.19*SIBOD) + (0.16*SICOD) + (0.15*SIAN) + (0.16 * SISS)

+ (0.12 * SipH)

where;

SIDO = Sublndex DO (% saturtlon)

SIBOD = Sublndex BOD
SICOD = Sublndex COD
SIAN = Sublndex NH3-N
SISS = Sublndex SS
SipH = Sublndex pH
0 ≤ WQI ≤ 100
 WATER POLLUTION
How can water be lost or
cause damage?
• Point-Source Pollution- pollution that comes
from one specific site. EX: leak from a sewer
pipe
 WATER POLLUTION
How can water be lost or
cause damage?

• Nonpoint-source Pollution – Pollution that comes

from many sources; Reaches bodies of water as
runoff
• EX: street gutters, fertilizers, eroded soil, drainage
from mines
 How can Water be conserved?

 By using only the water needed

 By recycling water
 By using drip irrigation systems.
 Waste water can be treated by sewage
treatment plants and septic systems
 Air Pollution
How can Air cause damage or loss?

• Air Pollution - The contamination of the atmosphere

by the introduction of pollutants from human and
natural sources
https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution
 Malaysia Air Quality Index :2015

Real Time Air Quality Index

http://aqicn.org/map/malaysia/#@g/-12.1458/88.1104/4z
 Malaysia Air Quality Index

• The ambient air quality measurement in Malaysia is described in terms of Air Pollutant Index (API).
• Closely follows the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) developed by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (US-EPA)

How is the API calculated ?

• Following the requirement of the Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Standard (MAAQS) from the
standpoint of human health implications, the pollutants was measured at varying averaging time
according to WHO standard2.
 Malaysia Air Quality Index

The air pollutants included in Malaysia's API:

• Ozone (O3): occur naturally in the upper layers of the atmosphere. This important gas
shields the earth from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. However, at the ground level, it
is a pollutant with highly toxic effects.

• Carbon monoxide (CO): colourless, odourless gas that is produced by the incomplete burning
of carbon-based fuels including petrol, diesel, and wood.
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2): Nitrogen dioxide is a nasty-smelling gas. Some nitrogen dioxide is
formed naturally in the atmosphere by lightning and some is produced by plants, soil and
water
• Sulphur dioxide (SO2) : Sulfur dioxide is a gas. It is invisible and has a nasty, sharp smell. It
reacts easily with other substances to form harmful compounds, such as sulfuric acid,
sulfurous acid and sulfate particles
• Particulate matter with a diameter of less than 10 micron (PM10): PM include dust, dirt,
soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. Some particles are large enough or dark enough to be seen
as soot or smoke, while others are so small they can only be detected individually with a
microscope.
 Air Pollutants

PRIMARY POLLUTANTS
• Industrial emissions
• Vehicle Exhaust
• Volcanic Ash

SECONDARY POLLUTANTS
• The formation of smog
 SOURCES OF HUMAN-CAUSED
POLLUTION

• Industrial & Indoor Air Pollution (more dangerous)

• Acid Precipitation
• The Ozone Hole

Sources of Emissions of Air Pollution (International energy resources

2011)
Source Indoor Air-Pollution
Source Indoor Air-Pollution
Effect of Air Pollution
 How Can Air Be Conserved?

• By legislation, such as the Clean

Air Act
• By Technology such as scrubbers
- devices used to remove
pollutants before they are
released by smokestacks
• By changes in Lifestyle
• Conserve energy
 Final
One way in which something
Countdown you learned TODAY relates to
something you learned
previously

Name an Name an
example of a example of a
renewable non-
resource. renewable
resource.

One One One

Important Important Important
fact from fact from fact from
lesson about lesson about lesson about
Air Water Soil